Effects of the Vietnam and Gulf War on America - Assignment Example

Effects of the Vietnam and gulf war on America The Vietnam and Gulf wars had a great impact on America. The question as to whether or not, the United States was asked to participate in the war is still open to debate, as their involvement is highly controversial. This is because whenever a country participates in a war, it examines its political gain and that of the place of war; it also addresses the mutual interest they stand to accomplish. Getting involved in the Vietnam and Gulf wars, brought more harm than good to the United States. Sending the United States troops to the Vietnam War was a miscalculated move. This resulted in great economic down turn and also loss of lives, the United States up to date still compensates the veterans of the war, not forgetting that they spent a lot of money in the war, which they eventually withdrew from in the long run. Many soldiers got permanent injuries and billions lost their lives. It is estimated that 58,000 American soldiers died during the war, 300,000 were physically wounded, and 2387 reported missing (Murrin et al 143). The war not only affected the United States troops that had been in the battlefield. The wars also affected the Americans who had constantly watched the happenings on the war front, as they had been aired endlessly in the media. Many had to deal with the post war trauma while others, had to deal with the death of their loved ones. Many children were orphaned, other families never got to know what had happened to their relatives as many other soldiers were reported missing. Despite the fact that the government compensated the veterans’ families, most people had believed it had not been in its place to get involved in the war. Others argued against the government’s move to recruit young people and send them to war. The nation lost a vast number of its young generation through the war. The Vietnam War resulted in a financial setback that was felt throughout the United States. The country lost an estimated $167 billion spent on the war (McNamara 186). The government spent a vast amount of money to purchase and produce supplies and weapons for the army involved in the war. A failure by President Lyndon’s government to increase taxation while financing a major war and a great society simultaneously led to a notable increase in a double digit inflation that resulted in federal debt (Buckallo 87). The mounting debt served to ravage the American economy and contribute to a decrease in living standards witnessed from the late 1960s into the 90s. Further, the war veterans had to be compensated, and they are still compensated up to date. This has increased the US government’s budget expenditure. They spent a great amount of money on the war, ironically they came out of it defeated and still had to spend money fixing the damage they had caused. The public highly criticized the fact that the government was going to send troops to fight the Gulf war. Although the United States emerged triumphant in the war, they did not necessarily emerge victorious. This is because after the Gulf war the United States has been perceived as an enemy among some Muslim nations (Rosenau 46). This has made the US to become a regular target of terrorist attacks. United States did not incur great economic losses, as its allies assisted in funding the war. The public had been against troops being sent into war, especially with the Vietnam War still fresh in their minds. Young people were the ones who were greatly against the idea, as they were the ones being recruited but this time; it was on an own will basis. The aftermath of both wars was the Vietnam syndrome and the Gulf syndrome. A soldier goes into the Gulf war to fight just so his country; America, can buy oil at lower prices. Saddam launches a chemical attack on the soldiers and this leaves them with incurable diseases that were later referred to as the Gulf syndrome (Rosenau 60). The Vietnam syndrome simply referred to the fear of Americans losing another war and also, some of the bad memories the Americans had of the Vietnam War, like wounded soldiers and dead bodies. More veterans ended up committing suicide after the Vietnam War, as they found it hard adapting to normal civilian life. Another reason was also being treated with indifference; by those who had not participated in the war and had been against it The Vietnam War also impacted negatively on American attitude and the government paid a high political cost. The Vietnam War marked the first war that the United States lost. The fact that they pulled out of the war was an evident acceptance of defeat and acknowledgement of their mistake. It was shameful, also seen as military weakness in their force, as the events of the war had been constantly aired (McNmara 113). The war totally changed the United States approach to other wars. The war had weakened public confidence and faith in the government and the leaders. Americans did not trust or respect public institution; all kinds of authority were treated with doubt, suspicion and distrust as a characterization of views, for the increase in the wake of war by the Americans. A collective amnesia appeared to take hold of a majority of the American population as no one wanted to think or talk about the country’s longest and most debilitating war, which they also lost. The Vietnam War also had a great impact on the foreign policy decisions. Due to the fear of getting stuck in another quagmire, most subsequent American governments avoided intervening militarily in the developing countries (Murrin et al 322). A new consensus depicting the lessons learned from the Vietnam War was manifested; that the United States would use military force if only national interest is concerned, as their last resort, if there was likelihood of an inexpensive, relatively quick victory or, if there was strong support from the public. The troops would not be sent to war for a period exceeding ninety days without the consent of the congress. The congress implemented strict laws and they would be involved in every aspect concerning the release of military intervention, they had learnt their lesson from the Vietnam War. The Vietnam neither war not only affected the Americans trust in their government but, it also affected the trust of other foreign countries in the United States (Buckaloo 213. The United States had been viewed for centuries as the invincible country that was superior and had a reputation of winning every other war. But with their defeat in the Vietnam War, other foreign countries were afraid of committing to the United States. The atrocities committed at the war front and the massive losses that were evident for the whole world to see, made other countries to view the US with contempt. The fact that they had also pulled out of the war, further contributed to the mistrust from the other foreign countries. The Vietnam and War resulted in massive loss of lives; a vast number of soldiers went missing in action while others emerged with permanent injuries or psychological scars and incurable diseases. The United States broke relations with both its allies and many other countries that had not directly participated in the war, the economy had faced a great financial setback, the people had lost faith in the government and all this was due to the fact that; the united states had gotten involved in both the Vietnam and Gulf wars. This topic is essential for it examines the need to contemplate the pros and cons before getting involved in a war. The United States simply miscalculated their move, but from their mistake other countries can learn that; war will bring more harm than good. From this we can deduce the fact that, countries should carefully evaluate situations before deciding on whether or not to get involved in a war. Works Cited Buckaloo, Derek Neal. Fighting the Last War: The "Vietnam Syndrome" as a Constraint on U.S. Foreign Policy, 1975-1991. New York: ProQuest, 2002. John Murrin, Paul Johnson, James McPherson, Alice Fahs, Gary Gerstle. Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, Volume 2: Since 1863. New York: Cengage Learning, 2011. McNamara, Robert S. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. New York: Vintage Books, 1996. Rosenau, William. Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets: Lessons from Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. New York: Rand Corporation, 2001. Read More